


Erase/Rewind

by Akira14



Series: ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND!AU [1]
Category: Free!
Genre: I am pretty much sure it will have a happy ending, M/M, you don't need to be familiar with the movie to read this though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-19
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2276769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akira14/pseuds/Akira14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if you could have the opportunity to erase someone completely from your mind? Would you take it or would you live with the pain? And what if that person suddenly re-appears in your life?</p><p>Fate, after all, seems to be quite ironic and dead set on making thing work the way they are <b>meant</b> to.</p><p>Chapter 1: Haru<br/>Chapter 2: Makoto<br/>Chapter 3: Sousuke<br/>Chapter 4: Rin<br/>Chapter 5: Nagisa<br/>Chapter 6: Rei</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Have you ever wished for a clean slate? Have you ever hoped for a fresh new start, freed from the shadows of past and of all those who left you behind? Come visit your nearest **SPLASH, FREE! Centre** and book your treatment at a 50% discount! Wash the memories away, and start anew! For more inform-_ Haru turns the radio off, scoffing, and puts the iPad back his pocket. 

He doesn’t get it. He doesn’t judge whoever considers getting rid of memories is better than facing them, but he cannot understand. He too, of course, would want to bleach out of his mind that guy… but not if he were in his best friend’s shoes. Not to have a shot at a relationship that was doomed from the start, with a man who has barely survived losing the person he cherished most and still seems to love water more than anything else.  
He has been there, he has had his fair share of heartbreak when he realized he had fucked up the best thing he had going in his life – beside swimming, that is – by mistaking what Rin and he had for something that could never be. Makoto had been kind, and forgiving, when he told him about that little fling but it was clear that it hurt him to even look at Haru’s face. That’s why he disappeared, that’s why he went to train abroad and never tried to reach out to him. He wanted to give him space, give him time to heal and then maybe… Maybe they could pick up the pieces and be still friends, at least?  
Still, despite all the suffering that he had been through he had never wanted to take the easy way out and forget about it all.  
Makoto has ( **had** ) always been an essential part of his life, a crucial component that had made him who was today and even if he weren’t… even then, he wouldn’t want to forget: the good days, he thinks, still outnumbered the bad.  
The laughter (Makoto’s), the quietness (his own) of those lazy summer days spent at the Tachibanas’ house on the beach. Back when they still spent each and every day together, when the distance had been a matter of feet and not hundreds of miles.  
 _“We will always have this.”_ Even if it all goes wrong, if all crumbles to pieces. _“We will always have this eternal summer in our heart, ne, Haru?”_

Fate, besides, seems to be quite ironic and dead set on making thing work the way they are **meant** too. Of all the people Rin could have worked with, in his part time job as a “SPLASH, FREE!” technician, really… Naturally he hasn’t mentioned anything to his friend. It’s not his business, not anymore. 

He gets so lost into thinking back to that fond gaze, to those kind green eyes staring into his own, that he it almost feels like they are staring at him all the way through the shop. He could swear they’ve been on him from the moment he stepped into the convenience market.  
He is so focused on that that he doesn’t realize he is already at the till and the cashier is waiting for him to place what he bought on the desk. He looks up, ready to mutter some kind of apology but the words die in his throat when he sees who’s behind the counter.  
No. That’s not possible, is it? Tokyo is such a big city… How could they ended up in the same conbini in the middle of the night? Come on, that’s just wishful thinking.  
Fate **is** ironic, cruel and stubbornly working against people’s best efforts to change its course. It **is** Makoto, who is a looking at him from the other side of the counter – how did he end up working here, on a night shift? He had such a bright future… well, maybe it’s just a part time job… Haru wants to ask about it but he’s not sure he is allowed to – asking him “Is that all, sir?” in a kind but mechanical and detached way, as if he was facing just another customer and not the man who had broken his heart and stomped on it.  
“Listen, Makoto… I’m sorry.” He blurts out, not even quite sure why. Those words were useless back then, so why should they matter now?  
Makoto looks bemused for a moment, a “How do you?” escaping his lips before his gaze drop on his name tag. “The name tag, of course, yeah.” He mumbles, before beaming at Haru again. “It’s okay.” He says. “I forget I have other stuff to buy too, sometimes. It’s a tricky question ‘Is that all?”, isn’t it? Of course it is, of course it could be more and, ah… Of course I could stop blabbering nonsense. I’m the one who’s sorry now. It’s 2500¥.” Silence falls between them, after Haruka hands him the money. It’s not an awkward silence, however. It’s quite comforting. As it has always been the case, between him and Makoto.  
“I **am** Makoto, by the way, Makoto Tachibana.” He says, handing him his change and the receipt. “And you are?” 

Does it feel like this, when you die on the inside?  
Does it feel like they are clawing the heart right out of your chest, while keeping your head underwater and putting your legs in a massive ice bucket?  
Because if it does, then that’s what happening to him right now.  
Makoto genuinely doesn’t know who Haruka is anymore.  
He has chosen to forget everything, rather than keep the happiest moments in his heart. He has taken the easy way out. And Haru wishes he could hate him for that, but once he sees him titling his head slightly – confused by Haru’s silence and expecting him to introduce himself, probably - he finds himself incapable of harboring ill feelings towards the man he’s facing. It is such a _Makoto_ thing to do, part of the mannerism he’d known for his whole life… He might not be the same man he once knew, not completely, but he might still be the one he fell in love with. Kind of. 

“I’m Nanase Haruka.” He finally replies, shaking Makoto’s hand.  
“Pleased to meet you, Nanase-san.” And coming from anyone one else’s mouth it would sound like a platitude, a formula that anyone caring to be polite would say. From him it sounds… sincere. Like meeting Haru has been the highlight of his day. He can’t stand be called by his surname, though. Not by **him**.  
“Don’t call me that.” He immediately points out.  
“Haruka?” Makoto tries, turning red at the audacity of calling someone he has just met by his first name.  
“That’s even worse.” The other man retorts, rolling his eyes.  
“Haru?” He says, shyly.  
“That could work.” Haruka approves, with a nod. “Well, I should get going. I’ve wasted enough of your time already.”  
“I don’t mind!” He turns even redder, if possible, surprised himself with what he has just said. “I really don’t. But if you have to go, then… Goodnight. Get home safe, please.”  
He can’t stand it anymore. He cannot be here, listening to _that_ concerned voice and knowing he’s simply another stranger who walked into his shop, for Makoto.  
“Hn.” He answers, before heading toward the door. He’s about to step over into the street, when he hears Makoto calling him.  
“Haru, wait!” He calls out. “Have I… Have I have already seen you somewhere?”  
“In your dreams, perhaps?” Haru replies, his tone not at all teasing but quite neutral, instead. “Tachibana-san, is this your first attempt at flirting with a stranger?”  
“I… I wouldn’t, I mean… Sorry… I… I wasn’t…” Words keep failing him, and Haruka takes pity on the poor flustered guy.  
“You weren’t flirting? What a shame. I really wouldn’t have minded if you were.” He looks for a piece of paper and the scribbles down his number. “Call me, if you change your mind.” 

Now all Haruka has to do - all he _can_ do, unless he wants to spook Makoto out - is wait.  
He's gonna get him back. 


	2. Makoto's interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto's interlude.

He’s losing his mind.   
It’s either that or he somewhat landed a role in a movie without realizing it. Not just any kind of movie.  
A rom-com, where two strangers look into each other eyes and fall in love on the spot. Yeah, he’s probably going crazy.

It’s understandable that he's pretty shaken up right now, isn’t it?   
The handsome guy who just left was the man of his dreams, after all.  
Literally. It’s not a figure of speech, not in his case.   
His face is the one he hasn’t been able to discern, the same that is imprinted in the darkest recesses of his mind. His voice is the echo he hears every night.

It doesn’t make sense, does it?  
They have never met before.  
But then… then how did he know his name was Haruka, before the man even introduced himself?

_We’ll always have this eternal summer in our hearts, ne, Haru?_

He should call him, meet up with him and get to know him a lot better.  
He doesn't quite know why but he **needs** to find out more about what kind of person Haruka is. Is he obsessed with water, like the young man in his dreams? Does he eat mackerel more often than not? Does he cook wearing only a swimsuit and an apron?  
Has he ever been at the Tachibanas’ house on the beach? Like, maybe he had been there for his last birthday. Nagisa did bring along a lot of friends at the party, people that Makoto wasn’t really familiar with, so maybe… He might have forgot that he met him because he was quite drunk that night. 

No, it wasn't like that.  
Haru had been in his dreams well before that day, hadn’t he? 

It's a blessing, indeed, that he mistook Makoto's awkwardness for a poor attempt to flirt. That he was actually disappointed when Makoto denied he was trying to chat him up.  
Because now he's got an excuse to pick up the phone and call him - as if he would ever have the guts to do that - or text him.  
A text would be better, it is a little less invasive than a call, isn't it?

What should he write him, though?  
Something short, so that he won't go rambling and make a fool of himself again. Something silly, something that could remind Haruka of who he was, just in case he forgot.

It takes him all night to compose the text.  
Near the end of his shift, he comes up with a 'Would you mind giving me another go at that flirting thing? Maybe in front of a nice plate of mackerel?'  
It's kinda stupid, but he's got a feeling that it might work. He sends it, before he can change his mind.

Now all Makoto can do is wait.   
And hope that he's given a chance to be by his side.

 **Fine by me.** comes the immediate reply. **Text me the details when you wake up. Now rest, Makoto.**

 **Is it a date?** He writes back, not wanting to misunderstand Haru's intentions. Maybe he's just playing along, maybe he's not serious about this at all.

**Only if you want it to be.**

He does want it to be.   
He does want it to be so bad that it hurts (it hurts right there, on the left side of his chest, where is heart is thumping like crazy).  
It will be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next chapter(s?): Sousuke & Rin.


	3. Sousuke

“Stop it, Rin…” He says, but he doesn’t really mean it.  
Not when Rin is practically sitting in his lap, rubbing against him in such a delightful manner, and keeping those skillful hands of his just above his waist, refusing to go lower… How naughty of him. He should really be thought a lesson.  
“This is neither the time not the place to be doing this.” He protests, again, and yet he lift his hips to meet his lover’s, looking for more friction.  
“This is outrageous… highly inappropriate… ” Pointy teeth nip at his earlobe, and for a moment he’s unable to speak.  
“And since when do you care?” That devilish creature asks, unfastening his belt and now biting and sucking on his neck. Rin certainly doesn’t give a damn about their client, who is currently asleep on the bed and undergoing the memory erasure procedure.  
They have been told that it is a delicate process, one that should be carefully supervised, but Rin seems to think it’s a piece of cake. He has every reason to believe that, after the Tachibana case. If Sousuke managed to handle the erasure of a relationship that spanned over twenty years… He can do the job on this Mikoshiba guy with his eyes closed. By tomorrow Momotarou won’t know who the fuck Nitori-senpai was, and all will be alright in the world.  
“Since I’m the one working for this firm full time, Rin. Not everyone is doing this job while pursuing some other big dream.” _’Not everyone can eve dream of being a professional swimmer, you know?_ ’ is what he’s really saying, and Rin knows because he holds him a little bit tighter and drops a kiss on the shoulder that failed him so many years ago.  
He doesn’t want to be bitter about it, not after such a long time, but… Ever since he met Rin he had this inexplicable desire to race him, to swim with him in a relay, and he doesn’t need to be reminded that it’s never gonna happen. Because Rin will be gone in a couple of months, off to win medals and trophies for his flawless butterfly stroke, and **this** \- this crappy job that he can’t quit because he doesn’t know where else he could go - is life now. 

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Rin asks, undeterred. His fingers are pressing against his erection, now, and it’s getting harder – no pun intended - to focus on anything else that is not the bone melting desire of speeding things up and fuck this little cock tease so hard that he would limp out the flat, tomorrow.  
“He could wake up and see us screwing on his sofa?” Sousuke suggests, and the perspective doesn’t disturb him as it should. While he might be worried about losing his job over a lack of professionalism, he wouldn’t mind having an audience as he restlessly pounds into that tight little hole.  
“Well, he should thank us for showing him a sight that he has never seen before. One that no one in their right mind would want to forget.”  
And really, what can he do apart from laughing and giving in to Rin’s obstinate attempts to – quite literally, indeed - charm the pants off him?  
He gets it. He does. He hasn’t looked into Tachibana’s reasons for doing what he did, not much apart from ‘cannot stop thinking about the cheating / got a heartbreak that led me to depression / got this obsession to know what kind of man I would be without him’, but… Was Nanase such a bad lay that he felt the need to erase the sex too?  
Sousuke is pretty sure that he’s never gonna want to forget all the _glorious_ nights he has had – that he’s still gonna have for another two months, at least – with Rin. That there’s no amount of heartbreak worth getting rid of that. No crippling pain in the future that could ever lead him to take such a drastic measure. 

“I get it. I see your point, now.” He concedes, threading his fingers through Rin's hair and drawing him close for a kiss.

“Eh… Took you long enough, you big idiot.” Rin huffs, kneeing him lightly on his hips.


	4. Rin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT :/ ! I haven't had the time to sit down and copy Rin's chapter until tonight.   
> Well, I will write and post Nagisa and Rei's asap, hopefully during next week!

This guy is infuriating.  
He's a competitive even over the smallest matters, he would turn every choice into a game of rock-paper-scissors and he's fucking stubborn, especially when Rin points out that Sousuke should take better care of himself. He's workhaolic, one that would rather end up spitting blood rather than do an half-assed job, and he's got this 'no sex when we're with a client' work ethic that Rin is more than happy to corrupt...

This guy is _really_ infuriating.  
He seems hardly fazed by anything, even though Rin can read him like an open book and knows better by now.  
Sousuke can keep up his cool façade, if that helps him to sleep at night, but Rin is well aware of all the right buttons to press to have those walls crumbling down.  
He likes what he sees, when that happens: an awkward and gentle soul, that doesn't quite know how to deal with people's reaction to his kindness. Someone who's scared by how deeply they fell for each other - he doesn't want _this_ to hold him back, he would never forgive himself if it did - and insists they should keep seeing each other on casual terms and not as a couple... and well, that's too bad, because Rin is pretty sure this man he sees he's the one he wants to spend his life with.   
He refuses to read to much into the fact that Rin guessed his birthday was on the 14th of Semptember. He believes that it's a coincidence that he got from him the present that he had always wanted but never got the nerve to mention. After all, it wasn't so hard to guess that he longed to spend a day at the pool with Rin and race him until he managed to beat him, right?  
"How did you know?" He had asked.  
"I just had a feeling..." He shrugged, and that was it.

Thing is, they both get a lot of this 'feelings' about each other and it turns out they are always right.  
About their favorite color, their favorite song, how the other likes to sleep or what he really loves to eat.  
Never have they had a doubt about what could turn their lover on and what would put him off, not even on their mind blowing first night together. 

However, this guy is _pretty_ amazing too. Not just because he's outrageously handsome or because he has been giving the best sex marathons he has ever experienced - not that many, to be fair, but still... - but also for a lot of other reasons.  
Pretty deep, meaningful reasons, really.

Like... he can sense what Rin is thinking, or feeling, before he has to voice it out. He is aware of when Rin needs space, and never sends him messages to find out where he's gone when he disappears in the midst of yet another existential crisis. He waits, patiently, until Rin comes back to him.   
And then, Sousuke lets him vent and relieve his frustration on him. He doesn't take any thing that Rin says personally, no matter how cruel and insensitive his accusations are, when Rin is taking his rage and disappointment out on him.  
They've barely known each other for six months, now, but he can undestand Rin better than anyone else.  
It's like they've met each other already, in a different life or something.  
It's like sharing one mind in two bodies. This is what his sister's books - not that he had read more than one, honestly... filled up as they are with silly romantic stuff - call being 'soulmates', isn't it ?  
Casual my ass.

He's gonna show him what is missing, he's gonna show that he better make an honest man out of Rin Matsuoka. He will. He's not sure how, yet, but he will.   
And then they are gonna live happily ever after. Because Rin believes in happy endings and thinks that nobody deserves one more than his boyfriend - yes, **boyfriend**. 'Casual my ass', remember? - so he's gonna give him one whether Sousuke likes it or not.  
He's gonna find a way. Just wait and see.


End file.
